Tobacco blend and process of making same



for all the various UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

CLINTON W. TOMS OF NEW YORK; N. Y., ASSIG-NOR TOLIGGET'I' MYERS TOBACCO COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF JERSEY.

TOBACCO BLEND AND rnoonss or MAKmefsAnE.

N 0 Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, CLINTON W. ToMs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New Yorkfhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco Blends and Processes of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to a new and improved tobacco blend and process of preparing the same. i a

It is a well known fact that tobaccos grown in different sections, soils and climates differ, fromlone another as to strength,-

taste, texture, aroma and burning qualities due to the presence therein, in varying quantities, of nicotin, vgums, acids, albuminoids, etc. It is also well known by manufacturers of smoking and chewing tobacco prodnote, that veryfew, if any, of the difierent types or kinds of tobaccos, in and of themselves, or when taken alone, make an entirely pleasing and'satisfying product for chewing or sinokingpurposes and this is especially true concerning cigarettes. It has long been the practice, therefore, to make up blends by mixing difierent types or varieties of natural tobaccos and these blends may be varied to quite some extent, but notwithstanding such possible variations, there is, nevertheless, a limitation as to the number of distinctively dilferent and satisfying blends that can be produced, especially for smoking purposes, because as stated all tdbaccos have inherent therein, and in varying quantities, certain objectionable acids, gums and nicotin which impart to the tobaccos a disagree able'harshness of taste, and an unpleasantness' of flavor and aroma. These render the tobaccos unsatisfactory for smoking. purposes, unless they are first treated to elimia difference in the burning properties of different types of tobaccos, some burn too freely, giving a hot smoke, while others burn too poorly, making it difficult to keep the product lighted unless drawn upon constantly, which is undesirable. It" is important and necessary therefore, in making up tdbacco blends, to have in mind and provide peculiarities inherent in the natural leaf.

To be entirely satisfactory, for smoking purposes in general, and for cigarettes in particular, the tobacco blend should have a Specification of Letters Patent. Pa,tente d Dec. 16,1919. Application filed November 6,1919. Serial No. 336,046. I

pleasing and satisfying taste and aroma,

without the harshness or raspiness so often found therein; it should burin freely but slowly, and should produce a substantially white, ash. It has been found to be diflicu t to produce a blend from natural leaves having all these characteristics, and if produced,

it is diflicult to maintain the same for any.

considerable period because of the varying nature of the natural leaf from season to season, and also for various other reasons, some of which have to do more or less with the curing processes now generally employed and which it is not necessary to discuss in detail in this specification. i

The present invention is based on the dis covery by me, after years of experience and study in the cultivation and curing of tobacco, and the preparation of various manu factured products therefrom, that a greater variety of entirely new and distinctive blends, may be produced, faithfully reproduced, and uniformly maintained, by'mak- I ing the blends from a selected group of several diflerent types or kinds of tobacco, some or all of which have been previously treated by impregnation, saturation or otherwise, with an extract taken from a companion tobacco leaf or leaves of the selected group,

or from others selected because of their known characteristics, the extract or extracts varying as to strength-and quantity I employed depending upon the particular blend or characteristic flavor it is desired to produce.

I have also discovered that by treating the selected tobacco leaves with selected tobacco extracts according to my invention that I am able not only to greatly improve the taste,

aroma and burning qualities of the products manufactured therefrom, but I am able to entirely eliminate therefrom that unpleasant harshness or raspiness so commonly found in smoking tobacco and particularly in cigarettes. This I consider to be an important feature of my invention,a desideratum long sought, but never before satisfactorily attained, so far as I am aware.

- While I may produce and faithfully maintain, according to my invention, a great variety of distinctive and satisfying blends,

from selected groiipsof practically all, if

not all, of the various types, kinds or varieties of tobacco grown, 'Iwill, for the pur poses of this specification, give only one exbe fully understood and practised by those skilled in the art, but I wish it understood that such example is only by way of illustration and is not to be taken as in anyway restrictive, except as I may be restricted by the terms of the appended claims, since it will be perfectly obvious to any one skilled in that art, after reading this dlsclosure, that variations in the kinds or types of tobacco employed; of the appl1ed extracts, their strength and quantity as Well as the method of treatment, may be made w1th1n wide limits without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

In preparing to make a new and distinctive blend according to myimproved procbaccos referred to and the stated propor-- tions, merely by way of specific illustration and it will be obvious that I may select another group, or substitute 'another or other tobaccos for some of those mentioned, and I may also add others to the three mentioned.

Having selected a particular group of tobaccos and always keeping in mind the peculiar characteristics of the blend it is sought to produce, I then prepare my tobacco extract or extracts to be applied to the selected leaves, it being understood that such extract or extracts may be applied to all, or a portion only, of each kind or type of tobacco selected. I have found that the best results are obtained by applying to a mild or light tobacco an extract of a somewhat stronger and heavier tobacco. For example, I have obtained very satisfactory results by applying an extract of burley to Virginia tobacco, and an extract of Green River, or a heavier and'stronger tobacco,'such as Wisconsin or Porto Rican cigar leaf, to Burley and so on. In every case I use the same care in selecting the extracts as' I do in selecting the tobaccos in the first instance, always having in mind the peculiar characteristics of the tobaccos from which the extracts are procured, as well as the charac-' teristics of the tobaccos to which the extracts are to be applied, and I prefer to apply the extract of one kind or type of tobacco to another or others having somewhat i similar characteristicsbut preferably of a milder nature than the tobacco from which the extract was taken. M

I have already. explained that a great deal of the unpleasant harshness or raspinessexperienced when. smoking certain kinds of tobaccos, is. due to 'a verylarge extent, to

J the various juices, acids, nicotin, albumiin strength and quantity by treating the leaves from which the extracts are made, or..

by treating the small quantity of hydrochloric or-an equivalent acid. I prefer, therefore, to so treat the leaves from which made or treat the extracts themselves, before applying the same to the tobacco leaves according to my method. The'reduction of the nicotin percentage as well as the other elements above recited, not only aids in removing the harshness as stated, but also seems to generally improve the tobacco treated with such modified extracts, and this is another feature of the invention.

Having thus decided upon the extracts to be used and the particular strengths, (which of course may vary to suit the conditions) I proceed to apply the same separately to the selected tobaccos in their natural state after they have been cured in the usual Way. The application may be made in any convenient way, as by saturation, impregnation, spraying or otherwise. I may apply a 10 per cent. solution of each extract, or the strength of the difierent extracts may vary in any particular blend. All of this is predetermined and noted according to the result desired, and having once'produced the blend it is a simple matter to faithfully reproduce and maintain the same blend standard, which is a matter of very great importance in a product of this kind, the reputation of which is soon lost if the standard of quality falls.

I may obtain the extracts in any of the well known ways from the leaves themselves 'made separately from selected stock and then properly labeled so that no error will be 'made in its application to the particular type orkind of tobacco to be treated.

In treating the leaves with the extract it is not my purpose or intention to entirely destroy the characteristics of the natural leaf so treated, but to. simply add to or modify such characteristics. For instance, I do not propose to convert a Virginia into a Burley leaf, nor a Burley into a Wisconsin or a Porto Rican or some other leaf.

extracts themselves, with a the extracts are to be characteristics, to cured tobacco of good quality and without first removing therefrom any of its natural or inherent characteristics; By this procedure the treated -,leaves are given a more distinct tobacco flavor because they contain a greater percentage of tobacco essence.

Of course I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the particular types or kinds of tobaccos herein mentioned, nor to any specific number of types or kinds in a particular blend, but in every blend I contemplate employing at least two or more types or'ln'nds, some or'all of at least one of which is treated with a particular extract or eixtracts depending upon the result desire Since those skilled in the art may readily ascertain the peculiar characteristics ofthe different kinds or types of tobacco as well as the extracts made therefrom, the making and maintaining of any particular blend, according to my improved process or method, becomes very simple, and obviously by varying the strength of the extracts employed as well as the a plication thereof to the different types or inds of tobacco, a

n great variety of distinctively new and pleasing blends may be produced, faithfully reproduced and maintained, notwithstanding the variations in the natural leaf.

After the leaves have been selected and treated as described they are blended in proper proportions according to the result desired. If a strong and heavy flavor is desired a greater proportion of Green River or other types of the heavier kinds of tobacco are employ ad. If a light .or mild flavor is desired then a preponderance of V1irgi1d1ia or other light leaf will be em- P Y After the treated tobaccos have been properly blended in, the manner stated, the whole mass may be submerged in a casing solution consisting principally of licorice, alcohol,

' glycerin and sugar. The mass is then subjected to heat treatment in a suitable tobacco drier or conditioning apparatus, the temperature therein ranging from 200 to 240 F. This treatment is continued for about six hours or more, and serves to permanently fix or set the appliedcasing as well as the applied extracts and improves the burning quality of the tobacco.

. After the heat treatment the; tobacco is subjected to a bath of cool, moist 'air in a humidifying system. This also affects the,

' burning properties of the tobacco and serves to give a cooler smoke.

The whole mass of tobacco thus treated is then subjected topressure in a suitable press suflicient to cause a thorough distribu-.

tion of the'added extracts, casing solution, etc, throughout the mass, but not so great a pressure as to expel such substances from the mass. This pressure is maintained for approximately two hours during which time the mass undergoes a certain setting and curing action due to its previous treatment whereby the juices, extracts, etc., are uniformly distributed and the flavor materially improved.

' The tobacco is then ready to be manufactured into the desired product. If it is to be prepared for a cigarette filler it is cut into thin shreds and subjected to a temperature of about 140 F., and these are then softened by the application of glycerin and alcohol. In some cases, as where a more distinctive flavor is desired, I may sprinkle over the ,to-

bacco leaves during any stage of the described process, a relatively small percentage of powdered coifee or an extract thereof in powdered form. I have discovered that powdered coffee or an extract thereof in powdered form combines with tobacco in a peculiar way and produces a remarkable change in its flavor and aroma. This however, is a'. modification of theemain idea of my invention and may be availed of or not depgnding upon the character of blend deslre I am aware that it has been proposed to treat certain domestic tobaccos of low grade and poor quality from which the nicotin, gums and juices have been extracted, with anextract of Habana or Cuban tobacco in order to ive them'the flavor of 'Habana or Cuban to acco; but such treatment is not to be confused with my new modified tobacco blend and method of producing the same. The two products and processes are distinctly different, since in the former case, the object sought is simply to render usable an otherwise, low grade and practically useless tobacco; while the objects sought by me are to create entirely new or modified tobaccos from which a great variety of distinctive blends may be produced, reproduced and faithfully maintained, and wherein the taste, aroma and burning qualities of the better grades of tobacco are improved.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. As a new product of manufacture, a tobacco blend comprising a mixture of selected tobaccos of diiferent kinds or types, at least oneof which has been treated with a tobacco extract having characteristics as to strength of flavor different from the tobacco to which it is applied.

2. As a new product of manufacture, a tobacco blend comprising a mixtureof selected tobaccos each having diflerent characteristics as to flavor, taste and aroma, certain cf the tobauicos of the group having incorporated therein extracts obtained afrom tobaccos difierent from those to which the extractshave been applied.

- tobacco blend compn --3. As a new product of manufacture, a

' lected tobaccosof difierent kind'or quality, at least one of which has been treated with ".an extractjfof .a stronger flavored tobacco.

' a tobaccov having 34; As a new product of manufacture, a tobacco blend comprising a mixture of difzferent kinds of tobacco, at least one of from the one sotreated, and powdered coffee incor orated in the mixture.

6.. he method herein described of making a tobacco blend, which consists in select- -ing definite proportions of a plurality of difierent-kinds or types of tobaccos having known characteristics asto taste and aroma, and treating at least one ofsuch with a tobacco extract different from-the'tobacco treated, and then mixing the tobaccos' I 7. The method herein described of-making aftobacco blend, which consists in select- .a mixture of see.

different characteristics in deiinite (firoportions of a plurality of di erent kin some ofthe severa kinds so selected each or t es of tobacco, treating with a diflerent tobacco extract, then mixthe mixture to a temperature of approximately 2009, F. to .fix or set the applied extracts.

8. The method herein described of making a tobacco blend, which consists in selectdefinite proportions of a plurality of di erent kinds or types of tobacco having known characteristics as to taste, aroma and burning quality,'then treating some of the several of tobaccos so selected, each with a contrasting tobacco extract, then mixing the tobaccos so treated and subjectingthe mixture -to a bath of cool, moist air.

.ing the tobaccos so treated and subjecting The method herein described of making a tobacco blend, which consists in selecting definite proportions of a plurality of different kinds or types of tobacco having known characteristics as to taste, aroma and burning quality, then treating some of the F several kinds of tobaccos so selected eachwith a dilferent tobacco extract, i-then mixing the tobaccos so treated'and subjectingthe mixture to a bath of cool, moist air, an finally to prolonged heavy pressure.

Signednt New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 5th day ofNovember, A. D. 1919. CLINTON W. TOMS. 

